Jean-Pierre Melville's Army of Shadows came out in 1969, one year after left-wing student protests made headlines all over the world. Because there was a scene with now rightist politician Charles de Gaulle (we only see his back in the film) giving out medals to French Resistance leaders during wartime, the film was shunned by the French critics, was poorly distributed and relegated to oblivion until its restoration and re-release in 2006, leading to an extremely positive re-appraisal, particularly by US film critics.
This is ironic since it was Melville's basic intent to play down the accomplishments of the French resistance during World War II and suggest many of their activities were either mundane or never came to fruition. Melville went so far out on a limb in this film that we're left wondering whether the French resistance actually did anything at all to impede the Germans' progress in attempting to win the war.
Instead of blowing up train tracks or assassinating important German officials, it's suggested that Resistance members spent more time rooting out and dealing with traitors in their own midst. This happens after we're introduced to one of the network heads, Philippe Gerbier (Lino Ventura) who's sent to a detention facility and after being transferred to Gestapo headquarters in Paris, and makes an unlikely escape by killing a guard.
When Phillipe meets up with three fellow resistance members in Marseilles, they're tasked with killing an operative who betrayed Phillipe. In order not to disturb the occupants in the next door apartment, they're forced to gag the man and then strangle him. To indicate they're not all cold-blooded, Melville shows us one of Philippe's men balking at killing the traitor.
There's more mundane stuff as Philippe travels to London where he meets the chief of the resistance who turns out to be his brother. On the way back, Phillipe must parachute out of a plane and there's a long sequence chronicling Philippe's lack of confidence as he first prepares to jump and then successfully manages to land on French soil in one piece.
When one of Philippe's team, Felix Lepercq (Paul Crauchet) is captured by the Germans, Mathilde (Simone Signoret), a housewife, part of Phillipe's network, devises another unlikely escape plan-this time posing as a German nurse accompanied by two members of the team, driving an ambulance into Gestapo headquarters and hoping that their forged documents enable them to obtain Felix's release.
Melville wants it both ways here. On one hand, the entire plan is ludicrous, undoubtedly influenced by the far-fetched plots of contemporary American films such as The Dirty Dozen. But as it turns out, again Melville wants to play down the accomplishments of the Resistance-the German doctor won't release Felix since he's on death's door after being tortured by the Gestapo, so the trio leave empty handed.
This is after Jean-Francois Jardie (Jean-Pierre Cassell) deserts the group and writes an anonymous letter to the Gestapo so they can arrest him and is able to get word to Felix that an escape plot is underfoot. He falls back on Plan B after the escape plot fails and gives Felix a cyanide pill so Felix doesn't have to undergo any more torture.
Melville can't resist additional Hollywood-like machinations, so after Philippe is again arrested, he makes a completely unbelievable escape with the help of his confederates as he's about to be executed by a German firing squad.
More nonsense when Mathilde decides to keep a photo of her teenage daughter on her person (despite being advised earlier to get rid of it), then is captured by the Germans and already sells out two confederates before being released. The chief speculates she's trying to buy time so that the squad can locate and eliminate her. Despite blowback from one Philippe's men, this is what actually happens: they gun Mathilde down in a hail of bullets while she's walking on the street.
Despite the far-fetched, Hollywood-like escape plots which Melville gratuitously throws in at different points in the film, indeed the accomplishments of the French Resistance are minimized. Is this a good thing? Melville suggests that the group did not accomplish as much during the war as the general public has come to believe. Certainly the fate of the principals explicated at film's end-all dead from either suicide or at the hands of the Germans-perhaps suggests they were indeed heroic but didn't accomplish much of great significance.
The acting here is all pretty good but there is virtually no character development-we never really get to know these people and hence caring for any of them is difficult.
This is ironic since it was Melville's basic intent to play down the accomplishments of the French resistance during World War II and suggest many of their activities were either mundane or never came to fruition. Melville went so far out on a limb in this film that we're left wondering whether the French resistance actually did anything at all to impede the Germans' progress in attempting to win the war.
Instead of blowing up train tracks or assassinating important German officials, it's suggested that Resistance members spent more time rooting out and dealing with traitors in their own midst. This happens after we're introduced to one of the network heads, Philippe Gerbier (Lino Ventura) who's sent to a detention facility and after being transferred to Gestapo headquarters in Paris, and makes an unlikely escape by killing a guard.
When Phillipe meets up with three fellow resistance members in Marseilles, they're tasked with killing an operative who betrayed Phillipe. In order not to disturb the occupants in the next door apartment, they're forced to gag the man and then strangle him. To indicate they're not all cold-blooded, Melville shows us one of Philippe's men balking at killing the traitor.
There's more mundane stuff as Philippe travels to London where he meets the chief of the resistance who turns out to be his brother. On the way back, Phillipe must parachute out of a plane and there's a long sequence chronicling Philippe's lack of confidence as he first prepares to jump and then successfully manages to land on French soil in one piece.
When one of Philippe's team, Felix Lepercq (Paul Crauchet) is captured by the Germans, Mathilde (Simone Signoret), a housewife, part of Phillipe's network, devises another unlikely escape plan-this time posing as a German nurse accompanied by two members of the team, driving an ambulance into Gestapo headquarters and hoping that their forged documents enable them to obtain Felix's release.
Melville wants it both ways here. On one hand, the entire plan is ludicrous, undoubtedly influenced by the far-fetched plots of contemporary American films such as The Dirty Dozen. But as it turns out, again Melville wants to play down the accomplishments of the Resistance-the German doctor won't release Felix since he's on death's door after being tortured by the Gestapo, so the trio leave empty handed.
This is after Jean-Francois Jardie (Jean-Pierre Cassell) deserts the group and writes an anonymous letter to the Gestapo so they can arrest him and is able to get word to Felix that an escape plot is underfoot. He falls back on Plan B after the escape plot fails and gives Felix a cyanide pill so Felix doesn't have to undergo any more torture.
Melville can't resist additional Hollywood-like machinations, so after Philippe is again arrested, he makes a completely unbelievable escape with the help of his confederates as he's about to be executed by a German firing squad.
More nonsense when Mathilde decides to keep a photo of her teenage daughter on her person (despite being advised earlier to get rid of it), then is captured by the Germans and already sells out two confederates before being released. The chief speculates she's trying to buy time so that the squad can locate and eliminate her. Despite blowback from one Philippe's men, this is what actually happens: they gun Mathilde down in a hail of bullets while she's walking on the street.
Despite the far-fetched, Hollywood-like escape plots which Melville gratuitously throws in at different points in the film, indeed the accomplishments of the French Resistance are minimized. Is this a good thing? Melville suggests that the group did not accomplish as much during the war as the general public has come to believe. Certainly the fate of the principals explicated at film's end-all dead from either suicide or at the hands of the Germans-perhaps suggests they were indeed heroic but didn't accomplish much of great significance.
The acting here is all pretty good but there is virtually no character development-we never really get to know these people and hence caring for any of them is difficult.